Who is Andrew Mitchell? The story behind the Tory’s new chief whip

Tory chief whip Andrew Mitchell has shot to infamy after
ranting at police outside Westminster, but the House of Commons veteran has a reputation as a ‘stern disciplinarian’ and was nicknamed ‘Thrasher’ at school.

But after being promoted to social security minister, Mr Mitchell lost his seat in Labour’s 1997 landslide.

Four years later he was back as MP for Sutton Coldfield, and is currently viewed as a Cameron loyalist, despite his background leading David Davis ‘s campaign in the Conservative leadership contest against the prime minister.

In May 2010, as international development secretary, he pushed for a law requiring the UK to contribute 0.7 per cent of the national income to overseas aid, which was unpopular with Tory backbenchers.